heeren



4 sheets-sheet 1. C; A. J. A. HEEREN. Breach Loading Fire Arm. l Patented March 29,1881.

(NDVZMOdeL) No" 239.496l

b i i (No Model.) 4 shets-sheen 2. vC. A. J. A. HEEREN. Breech'Loading Eire Arm.

` Patented March 29, I88I.f

(No Model.)

' A.. HEEREN.

- Breech Loading Fire Arm. N0. 239,496.

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented March 29,11881.

rlll f f v 4 .J WW2 (Nomodel.) muetssheet 4. 0. A. J. A. HEEREN. Breeoh Loading Fire Arm. No.` 239,496. .Patented March 29,1881.

'PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN() A. J. A. HEEREN, F PARIS, FRANCE.

-BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARM.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 239,496, dated March 29, 1881,

Application filed July 30, 1880. (No model.)

France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements on Breech-Loading Fire-Arms,

of which the following is a specification, reference beingl had to the aceompanyin g drawlngs.

'My invention, which relates to breech-loading tire-arms in which the breech-blockhas a vertically-sliding movement in a mortise in the receiver, is characterized by the following advantages, viz: rst, security against a'll accident to the person,A owing to the natureof the movement of the breech-block; second, s0- lidity ofthe arm in general, and of each piece of which it is composed; third, dispensing altogether with spiral springs; fourth,great simplicity of al1 the parts of the mechanism fifth, great facility for putting togetherand taking to pieces, which makes it easy to clean the arm; sixth', the arrangement of an interior cock or hammerfurnished with an exteriorcombor tail to cock and uncock at will seventh, obviatin g the inconveniences and dangers which exist in fire-arms heretofore constructed with external cocks, and also in fire-arms with interior ham. mers, in which it cannot be easily recognized whether the arm is cocked or not," and which are therefore dangerous; eighth, great facility for loading the arm, which permits very great y rapidity ofring, owing to the simplicity of the mechanism for opening and closing the chantber; ninth, diminution of the length of the arm without reduction of th`e length of the barrel, owing to the positionl end mdde of displacing the breech-block.` All these qualities are obtained by the general combination of the mech- -anism,a'ndby the new and special construction and arrangement givenI tothe parts."

"' -In the accompanylngdrawings, rSheets Ia'nd II representan arm especially adapted vfor arms ofgwar, as infantry rilies or carbines, and Sh eet 'III represents a-sporting-gun. vThe two' types areconstructed and operated exactly in the same manner, except in some details modied in view of the purpose for which thearm is particularly intended'.

Similar letters of referenceindicate like parts in the'several sheets'and tigure'sof the draw- I will first describe the military arm represented on Sheets I and Il, in which Figures l and 2 are vertical sections of the breech system in different planes, and taken looking in opposite directions. operating and triggerguard lever. Figs. 4 and 5 are transverse sections. Fig. 6 isa central section of the sliding breech-block. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal view ot the pin which stops the breech-block.

I will follow inV this description the order of the operations necessary for once loading and tiring, supposing the arm to have been prev viously loaded and fired.

The operator commences by opening the breech. lTo this eii'ect he presses forward and downward upon a small lever-like catch, a., arranged in a cavity provided in the forward part of the interior of the piece I), which may be, called the guard-lever, constituting the trggerguard and breeclroperating lever, and to which the said catch` a is pivoted at c. This lever a terminates in a hook7 d, which penetrates into a notch, c, provided for the pur- `maintained engaged in the said notch by the tail g of the trigger-spring h. In this 'manner the closingoi the chamber is assured. The disengagement of the hook d having been thus a, the operator pulls the guard-lever b downward, causing it at the same time to move toward him about the pin i, by which it is pivoted tothe breechlreceiver. This pin is screwed into the breech-receiver, and it is only necessary to unscrew and withdraw it in order to enable the breech-block and lock to be comin the sainepieee with ita curved arm, j, on theleft-hand'side thereof. This arm engages in an opening, k,.'Fig. 1,'int-he breech-block l, which is fitted ,to slide up and down in the breech-receiver f. When the guard-lever b is raised andthelever o1/hooked, as shown in inV its highest position, the "curved-' arml j is against `.the upper part of thev opening k, and

front surfacelltg'of the upper part ofjthesaid effected by the push exercised upon the lever Figi l, and consequently vthev 'breech-block is Fig. Sis aplan of the breechpose in the breech-receiver f, and which is A pletely removed. The guard-lever b has made maintains; theblock in that .positidnwThe ICO peningis inthe form Otani-arc of acylinder i generated'from'the center of the pin fi, the

end of the arm j is of corresponding form, and,

consequently, until the arm has escaped from arc-formed surface the arm j comes in contact with a shoulder, m, furnished in the breechblock at the bottom of the openin g k, and the block commences to descend and uncover the opening of the chamber, as shown iu Fig. 2. At the moment when the block has descended sufficiently to open the chamber itactsuponthertail of Vthe cktractor a, the head of which swings backward, throwing out the shell. The hub of the extractor has in it a notch, a, which enables it to be slipped over astride of a fixed pin, o, in the breech-block, upon whichb it swings. This diminishes the number of pieces and facilitates the taking them apart. Owing to the oblique direction of this notch, a', the position of the fixed pin o, and the form of the front face of the breech-block, the extractor, having been placed over the lixed pin o before the insertion of the breech-block into the receiver, is secured by the insertion of the breechblock, and cannot get out of place or be removed without entirely removing the breechblock from the receiver.

Fig. 4 gives a view of the extractor, showing that it is constructed to take the cartridgeshell on the side. The extractor is placed at the right of the block, in which there is provided a cavity, p, (see Fig. 2,) for the reception of its tail, said kcavity being so arranged rela-` tively to 'the opening k in the block that the top of the said cavity will not commence to operate on the extractor until the chamber is fully open.

During the descending movement of the guard-lever to open the chamber, and a little before'the said lever has reached' the end of its descent, the hammer s has been automatically cocked. The hammer is iitted to work on a pin, t, fixed across the middle of the guardlever, the position of the said pin being such relatively to the pivot z', on which the said lever swings, that the hammer is involvedin the descent of the said lever, commencing to descend as soon as the lever descends, and therefore it descends a certain distance relatively to the block, which, as has been hereinbefore described, does not immediately descend,:and hence it (the hammer) does not remain vopposite the firing-pin B, which Works through the breech, but its point comes opposite a little oval notch, u, Figs. 2 and 6, provided in the rear surface of the block, and its head, resting maintained inthe said notch, cannot describe a circle corresponding or concentric with those described by the different points in the guard-lever, but is forced to turn on its pin t, until it is cocked, as shown in Fig. 2. The comb or tail v of the hammer,-Which is inverted-that is to say, placed-on its lower part-is thus brought opposite to the'trigger w, which is pivoted by a pin, ai, to thc guardl lever, and whose head y, under the action of the trigger-spring h, engages successively inthe two notches of the tumbler of the hammer in a manner to hold it cocked.

The inverted position of the comb or tailv,

and its arrangement in the guard-lever behind the trigger, are of great importance, inasmuch as it shows whether or not the gun is cockedthat is to say, it presents all the advantages of Lthe old-fashioned fire-arms with external hammer, and also obviates the dangers ofarms of that kind, the comb or tail being completely protectedwithin the guard-lever. Y Y Y Y In bringing the dog to the position of cocking, the mainspring z is brought under its highest tension. This spring is composed of two branches with an eye, through which passes the pin 1T of the fu'lcrum of the guardlever b. This eye is received, as shown at A pin-hole of the guard-lever, and the spring is thereby held in place.

To facilitate the introduction ofthe cartridges into the chamber, the upper face of `the breechblock l is hollowed and rounded, so thatin case the cartridge should not be inserted all the Way into the chamber it will be forced in by the block, which presents on the upper part of its face an inclined plane, q. When the block is pushed upward this inclined plane presses the cartridge forward into the4 chamber. The chamber is closed by raising the guard-lever. As the curved arm j is brought by this movement against the upper surface of the cavity k it pushes up the block until the latter reaches its highest position, after which the continued movement of the said arm causes its extremity, which, as before described, is of the form of an are described from the center of the piu t', to pass under the curved portion k' of the cavity k iu the block, which is of corresponding form. and as soonv as this occurs the block is held securely in place and the chamber is completely closed, and even though the cartridge should explode there'is no danger to the operator; but this explosion is not possible until the upward movement of the guard-lever is completed, for until then the hammer, even though it should belet oi', would not have arrived in a position to strike the firing-pin B. In completing lin Fig. 2, in a cavity countersunk around "the IIO' the ascending movement of the guard-lever',

the extremity of its arm j, without further changing the ascending movement of the block, slides upon the curved partk, and the hammer, which remains cocked, comes to its position opposite the firing-pin. It is not, therefore, until all the parts are in place, and the guard-lever is secured to the breech-receiver, that the hammer, in striking, could fire the cartridge.

The firing-pin B works through the center of the breech-block l, and is furnished with a head, O, in the lower part of which is an elongated notch, through which passes transversely a pin, D, of which the head E serves as a stop to the breech-block during its upward movein the-ordinary way.

ment, as I will hereinafter describe. This pin D limits the movement of the ring-pin. The tiring-pin should be slightly beveled at its front end, in order that, as while the breechblock is being moved upward after loading it meets the edge of the cartridge-shell, it may be pushed backwithout any shock to the cartridge.

The head E of the piu D is elongated vertically, as Ishown in Figs. 2, 5, and 7, to prevent it from turning, the hole provided in the breechblock for said pin being. countersunk to conform to the said head, and the said head, which has its outer face in the form of an inclined plane, as shown in Figs. 5 and 7, is 'thick enough to always remain in the hole. This is necessary, in order that the said pin, which is loose and free to move longitudinally, may at a suitable moment enter an inclined groove, F, provided for itin the side of the interior of the breech-receiver, and may always present the base of its inclined plane upward. The bottoml` of the groove F is so in-V clined that its greatest depth is in `its upper part, where it terminates abruptly. It will be understood, therefore, that if the head of the pin D is forced to enter the said groove it will serve as a stop to the breech-block. In order to ei'ect this the point of the said pin is beveled, and during the upward movement of the breech-block it is encountered by the curved arm 7' of the guard-lever, which moves it endwise and makes its head enter the grooveF. The inclination of the bottom of the latter causes the head of the pin to move out ot' the groove during the descent ofthe breech-block.

The firing is effected by pulling the trigger At the moment the hammer falls its tail is thrown hack to the position shown in Fig. 1, and it serves for the manipulation of the hammer from the exterior of the gun to cock or uncock or half-cock it.

In Sheet III, which represents the sportinggun, Fig. 8 is a longitudinal vertical section of' the breech system. Fig. 9 is a transverse section of the breech-receiver, showing also the extractor and the breech-block stop. Fig. 10 is a central vertical section of the breechblock, showing a safety device to prevent ring. Figs. 1l and 12 are, longitudinal vertical sections of the breech system, illustrative ofthe operation of said safety device.

It will be ,seen thatin this sheet similar letters of reference to those used in Sheets I and II are used to designate the same parts of the gun.

The construction of this sportiuggun is substantially similar to that of the military arm already described, very slight modifications only being lnade, as I will now briefly describe.

The guard-lever, not requiring to be so solidly fastened, has simply provided in its forward part a notch, with which engages the hooked and beveled head of a spring secured on the front of the breech-receiver, the elasticity of the said spring permitting the opening and insuring the closing of the breech.

military arm, the guard-lever is furnished with two similar curved arms operating in the same manner, and acting one on each. side of the breech-block. The hammer works between these arms.

The extractor, as shown in Fig. 9, instead of being arranged in a recess in the side of the breech-block,.is arranged in a mortise in the middle of the said block, but bent in such manner as to take hold of the cartridge at the side, but otherwise works in the same manner -as `that of the military arm, as hereinbefore described.

The movement of the tringfpin is limited by a pin which passes through the breech-block, like the pin D of the military arm, but the same pin does not serve to stop the ascent of the breech-block, that being e'ected by the head of a spring, E. secured to the side of the breech-receiver, the upper part of the breechblock stopping against the said head, :as shown in Fig. 9. i

I have shown in Figs. 10,11, and 12 amodication of the breech-block, in which it carries a safety-piece, F, in the form of an elbow-lever pivoted into the upper part of the breech`block by a pin,] 2. This safety-piece is furnished with anv external comb, F', in order to raise and lower it at will. When this piece, is lowered, as shown in bold outline in Fig. 10, one of its arms comes behind the iring=pin, and

piece F, and .not the firing-pin. This deviceis important for sporting-guns, for it permits the arm to remain indefinitelyr cocked without any danger. This safety-piece sets itself automat icallyevery time the gun is reloaded, for in opening thechamber by the descent of the breech-block the back of the said safety-piece, which presents an inclined plane, presses upon the back of the mortise in the breech-receiver and is placed in its position of safety. (Shown in bold outline.) When it is desired. to lire, it is only necessary todraw back the comb F by above and uncovers the firing-pin. This maneuver is effected very rapidly, an. internal spring, F2, holding the lever E either raised or lowered, as required. The action of this safetypiece is very fully lllustrated in Figs. 11 and 12. Fig. ll shows the said piece in its normal position, in which it will prevent the hammer from striking the ring-pin C. Fig. 12 shows the said piece raised and the hammer as having struck the safety-pin.

. What I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination of the vertically-sliding guard-lever b, furnished with an arm or arms, j, working in said opening to operate the said block, the hammer and trigger, pivoted to said lever forward of the pivot upon which the said lever b and its breech-operating arm or arms j work, the whole arranged substantially as herein described, whereby the hammer-nose,

working on the back of the breechblock to consequently if the hammer falls it strikes the'l the thumb, and this raises the safety-piece Instead of the single curved arm j of the IOO IIO

IIS

t `breech-block l, having the opening Ick', the

1 stantally as heei'n described.

Y guardflever, is oausyeqftoremalin belo'othe-fr-l ing-pin until the breeeh-blook has arrived nV i the position to oompletelvyololse the bglillv'elhsb? combination with the breech-receiverand `@fifi ingr-pin, all'sn'bta'n'tally as heein Set forth;

WitnesSeS: 1 C., A. J.' A. HEEREN. CARL ULREIGH, AUGUST BARY. 

